The other day I was talking to one of my best friends, and we were talking about how much fun the night before was. She said something to me that really stuck. She said, "I always know I had a really fun night when I wake up in the morning and don't have a single Snapchat story." It took me a minute but I realized that was true for me too. It got me to thinking, why is everyone so concerned with putting up selfies on your story, and why does everyone prioritize taking a cute picture for Instagram rather than spending time with the people around you?
As a college student, I know first-hand how important social media, texting, and emailing can be. Cell phones play a huge part in our daily lives, and at this point, there's nothing we can do to stop that. We live in a world where cellphones aren't just a luxury, they're a necessity. I do believe that cell phones are an amazing invention and have proven to help our society tremendously, but we do have drawbacks from them too. We live in a world where self-worth is defined by how many followers you have, how many likes you have, or how many retweets you get. We're all a little too concerned with what is going on in the digital world rather than what's happening right in front of you. It's so easy to get caught up scrolling through your News Feed that you forget what's going on around you.
Every time I go to work (I'm a waitress), I have at least one table where all the customers do is check their phones. It is so sad to see people sit on their phones at dinner and not even look up to have a conversation. I'm realizing how sad it is to see college girls be more concerned with how the good the lighting is for your next Instagram, rather than spending time with your friends.
I won't sit here and say that I'm innocent, in fact, I should take my own advice because I know that I appreciate a good Instagram or a really funny tweet sometimes. But I will say that there is a time and a place to be on your phone, and it shouldn't be when you are spending time with your friends, and it certainly shouldn't be at the dinner table.
I think it's time to put the cell phones down. Put them down when you go out and dance on the bar with your friends instead of taking Snapchat stories all night. Put them down when you're at dinner and have a conversation instead of checking Facebook. Put your phone down while you're at a concert instead of videotaping it. Sit back and enjoy the view instead of taking a picture of it.
Put your cell phone down. Look up, and appreciate the good company of those around you. You only get to live one life, don't waste all of it by staring at a screen.
